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August Kautz
|death_date= |birth_place= Ispringen, Baden, Germany |death_place= Seattle, Washington |placeofburial= Arlington National Cemetery |placeofburial_label= Place of burial |allegiance= United States of America Union |branch= U.S. Army Union Army |serviceyears=1846 - 1848, 1852 - 1892 |rank= Brigadier General Brevet Major General |unit= |commands= 2nd Ohio Cavalry 15th Infantry Regiment 8th Infantry Regiment Department of the Columbia |battles=Mexican-American War Rogue River Wars Puget Sound War American Civil War *Peninsula Campaign *Battle of Buffington Island *Bermuda Hundred Campaign *Siege of Petersburg |relations=Rear-Admiral Albert Kautz (brother) }} August Valentine Kautz (January 5, 1828 – September 4, 1895) was a German-American soldier and Union Army cavalry officer during the American Civil War. He was the author of several army manuals on duties and customs eventually adopted by the U.S. military. Early life and career Born in Ispringen, Baden, Germany,August Valentin Kautz was born in Ispringen; Answer.com Kautz immigrated with his parents to Brown County, Ohio in 1832. He later enlisted as a Private in the 1st Ohio Infantry during the Mexican-American War. Entering the United States Military Academy following the war, Kautz graduated in the class of 1852. He primarily served at Fort Steilacoom in the Pacific Northwest, where he was wounded twice with the 4th U.S. Infantry during Rogue River Wars with Indians along the Snake River in 1855, and also served in the Puget Sound War in 1856. He was rewarded with a commission as a lieutenant in the regular army. On July 16, 1857, Kautz made what is sometimes credited as the first ascent of Mount Rainier. Kautz is reported as having climbed to the edge of Rainier's crater rim, but as he did not make the final walk to Rainier's Columbia Crest, his ascent has often been described as incomplete. During his time in the Pacific Northwest, Kautz became a supporter of Chief Leschi, who was executed in 1858. Kautz believed the execution was illegal and that Leschi should have been considered a prisoner of war. Shortly before Leschi's execution, Kautz published two issues of a newspaper defending him. The newspaper was called the Truth Teller, and its masthead stated: "Devoted to the Dissemination of Truth and the Suppression of Humbug." From 1859 to 1860, he traveled in Europe. He returned to the Eastern United States in April 1861, shortly after the outbreak of hostilities between the Union and Confederacy. Civil War Kautz was a captain with the 6th U.S. Cavalry during the Peninsula Campaign from April to July 1862. Transferred to the Western Theater, Kautz later assisted in operations as a colonel with the 2nd Ohio Cavalry against Confederate General John Hunt Morgan's highly successful raid behind Union lines in Indiana and Ohio during June–July 1863 and under the command of Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside at the Battle of Knoxville from September to December 1863. Promoted to brigadier general of volunteers on April 16, 1864, Kautz led cavalry operations of the XXIII Corps under the command of Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler during Ulysses S. Grant's campaigns against Richmond and Petersburg between April and June 1864. His cavalry division was a part of the Army of the James and was forced to withdraw from its position at White's Tavern following an attack by Confederate Lt. Gen. James Longstreet. On December 12, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln nominated Kautz for appointment to the brevet grade of major general of volunteers, to rank from October 28, 1864, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment on February 14, 1865.Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8047-3641-3. p. 713 He was mustered out of the volunteers on January 15, 1866.Eicher, 2001, pp. 327-328 On July 17, 1866, President Andrew Johnson nominated Kautz for appointment to the brevet grade of major general, U.S. Army, to rank from March 13, 1865, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment on July 23, 1866.Eicher, 2001, p. 708 In early April 1865, Kautz marched into Richmond in command of a division of colored troops which belonged to Godfrey Weitzel's XXV Corps. He was active during the Union pursuit of Robert E. Lee from April 2 to April 9, 1865, until Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House. After the Civil war After the war, Kautz served (from May to June 1865) on the trial board investigating the conspirators involved in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, before performing extensive service in the southwest frontier, including as the commander of the Department of Arizona and commanding officer of Fort McDowell. He was appointed commander of the Department of the Columbia in July 1891 with the rank of brigadier general. After leaving military service in 1892, he lived in retirement until his death at Seattle, Washington. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Bibliography * The Company Clerk (1863) * Customs of Service for Non-Commissioned Officers and Soldiers (1864) * Customs of Service for Officers (1866) See also *Wilson-Kautz Raid, which Kautz helped lead *List of American Civil War generals (Union) Notes References * Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8047-3641-3. *Warner, Ezra J., Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders, Louisiana State University Press, 1964, ISBN 0-8071-0822-7. *Ezra Meeker, Pioneer Reminiscences of Puget Sound: The Tragedy of Leschi (Seattle, 1905). *Martin Öfele, General August V. Kautz, Erinnerungen an den Bürgerkrieg, Verlag für Amerikanistik, ISBN 3-89510-049-8 (Germany) * Donald E. Worcester: The Apaches - ‚Eagles of the Southwest‘, University of Oklahoma Press, 1992, ISBN 0-8061-1495-9 (Pg. 186-206) * Dan L. Thrapp:Al Sieber: Chief of Scouts. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman 1964, ISBN 0-8061-2770-8 (Pg. 48-49) * * ;Attribution * External links * Spartacus Educational - August Kautz * samuelmudd.com web site * [http://sharlot.org/archives/history/dayspast/text/2000_02_27.shtml Sharlot Hall Museum: The days of empire at Fort Whipple; incl. August Kautz] Category:1828 births Category:1895 deaths Category:Union Army generals Category:People of Ohio in the American Civil War Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Category:German emigrants to the United States Category:American military personnel of the Mexican–American War Category:People from Brown County, Ohio Category:United States Military Academy alumni Category:Rogue River Wars